Simers says USC athletic director Mike Garrett has hung Carroll out to dry amid allegations of running back Joe McKnight receiving improper benefits and three players being ruled ineligible for the Emerald Bowl. Simers says Garrett did the same thing to former basketball coach Tim Floyd when the going got tough.

It’s been a rough year for Carroll, Simers says, starting with his poor handling of quarterback Mark Sanchez leaving early for the NFL draft.

The loss to Washington didn’t help either.

Once upon a time, O.J. Simpson showing up at practice was the biggest controversy the Trojans had to deal with.

Here’s how things have changed: Everyone wants to know whether McKnight will ever again be welcomed to a USC practice, the unranked Trojans preparing for the Nut Bowl, practicing at City College of San Francisco where Simpson played, but — in what might be considered the only sign of progress of late — honoring Simpson’s memory with a tour of Alcatraz.

It’s been a grand ride for USC until now, the Reggie Bush whatever hanging somewhere in the air, but so many games sold out in the Coliseum and so much fanfare.

There’s no reason to think Carroll has lost it, maybe some of his athletic arrogance tamed a tad as he reflects on his inability to overcome the transition of so many players to the NFL in the last two years.